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Why aren’t we using solar powered ships?
- jMyles 12y agoI too have wondered this. I think these guys have done some research on the matter: http://www.seasteading.org/ http://www.seasteading.org/ ...but I don't know of the current state, if any, of their conclusions.
- aosmith 12y agoIt makes a lot of sense. If a business can turn a variable cost (fuel) into a fixed cost (solar panels) it's generally advantageous.
- eksith 12y agoI think the larger the craft, the more this would make sense. I had the idea of a long pontoon craft for inter waterway trade powered by solar panels based on a patent I had seen[1] Although that was for a ground-effect craft[2], the long flat deck seemed perfect to mount solar panels. I'm not well versed in hydrodynamics, but I imagine the smaller contact area with the water would reduce drag for the initial launch phase as well. [1] https://www.google.com/patents/US5746146 https://www.google.com/patents/US5746146 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_vehicle
- aosmith 12y agoI think ground effect requires too much power to be practical, hydroplaning on the other hand may be possible.